Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

24 reviews

eclecticreadswithash's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Fancy a short story collection that's a little bit different? Look no further! 

Never Whistle at Night includes stories from indigenous authors from all over the U.S. and Canada. These stories are definitely more "dark fiction" than horror, where they often cover topics related to everyday tragedies and generational trauma that indigenous people face in modern times, such as residential schools, foster family abuse, and racism. Only a couple of stories are more mythological. It was addressed right at the beginning in the forward that Native Americans experience real horror in the everyday, and that can be scarier than anything made up. 

I really appreciated the variety of stories shared and the showcase of authors from so many different tribes. Despite this, there are many similar themes. Indigenous peoples have suffered. And they continue to do so, no matter where they are. And that's not okay! This is a really interesting way to bring attention to indigenous issues and culture. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I rarely read short story collections. If you don't mind a bit of spooky or uneasy/uncomfortable topics, I would really recommend this! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Body horror

Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Rape, Racism, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, and Alcoholism

Minor: Abortion

cerasaurusrex's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Hate crime, Mental illness, Murder, Abortion, Addiction, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Bullying, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Racism, Drug abuse, Gore, Grief, and Violence

jackireadsthings's review against another edition

Too much gore.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Abortion, Sexual harassment, Torture, Vomit, Sexual assault, and Violence

soyabeanos's review

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Colonisation, Hate crime, Racism, Abortion, Blood, Sexual content, Cursing, Violence, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

hillcm91's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

3.75

some of these were 4.5-5 starts and others were 2-2.5 so I'm averaging my rating to be somewhere in the middle.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Grief, Rape, and Homophobia

letsgolesbians's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious sad tense

4.5

never whistle at night is an anthology of indigenous dark fiction, containing 26 stories from writers across a variety of tribes and areas. i dont read a lot of horror, so this was branching outside of my normal fiction genres, and reading bipoc horror is different than white horror because there are additional layers of horrors and things to fear for us.the stories in this collection tell tales of monsters, nightmares, bodies, bugs, of colonization and retribution. i didn’t give it a full five stars because i was hoping for a little more queer rep. 

the story i enjoyed most was uncle robert rides the lightning by kate hart, about love and grief and ghosts. my other favorite stories were kushtuka by mathilda zeller, white hills by rebecca roanhorse, hunger by phoenix boudreau, human eaters by royce k. young wolf, and the scientist’s horror story by darcie little badger. 

i want to thank whoever bought me this from my bookshop wishlist, it didnt come with a note!

TWs

general TW for colonization, death, murder, residential schools, and violence.

kushtuka: unwanted touching

white hills: forced abortion

navajo don't wear elk teeth: sex on page, unwanted rough sex

wingless: animal death, child abuse

quantum: child abuse/neglect

tick talk: misogyny, bugs

snakes are born in the dark: birth, destruction of petroglyphs, pus

before i let go: suicide

behind colin's eyes: body stuff (nails falling off, teeth falling out), mention of child labor 

heart-shaped clock: drug use

scariest.story.ever: animal death, drugs

human eaters: mentions youth death

the prepper: elder neglect, mental break, self-harm

uncle robert rides the lightning: grief

sundays: child rape, pedophilia, suicide

eulogy for a brother, resurrected: homophobia

limbs: physical torture

photo review here: https://www.instagram.com/p/C5CPl5hvClS/?igsh=NzBmMjdhZWRiYQ==

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Misogyny, Abortion, Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Child death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Self harm, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide, Rape, and Sexual content

asurasantosha's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Child abuse, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Racism, Stalking, Abortion, Animal death, Cannibalism, Hate crime, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Blood, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, and Violence

kitstonglade's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Abortion, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Miscarriage, Racism, and Sexual assault

dezzella's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Went a little outside of my usual genre reading this, not usually the horror/thriller type reader, but I really enjoyed this! I thought there was lots of variety in the types of stories you encounter (whether from a paranormal/otherworldly experience to just other humans doing some terrible things). Glad I picked this up, and would recommend for those who love dark stories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Racism, Blood, Abortion, Gore, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Miscarriage, and Death

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Stalking, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship

black_cat_iiix's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Pregnancy, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, and Body horror